Development of an airport at Tarras has been put on hold, Christchurch City Holdings Limited (CCHL) said this morning (Wednesday February 28).

Christchurch City Council’s investment company is operating under tighter capital constraints, acting chief executive Paul Silk said.

“We have been advised by the CIAL [Christchurch International Airport Limited] board that they have taken the decision to take further time to reflect on the status of this project…” he said.

Paul said CIAL had cited challenges around future resilience, economic growth and infrastructure needs.

CCHL chair Abby Foote said the company did not expect significant amounts of capital to be committed to further investigations into a new airport in Central Otago in the short-term.

“While CIAL’s landholding is of strategic value, it is our view that this project can only succeed if there is stronger stakeholder alignment around the need for a new airport as a key enabler of sustainable tourism,” Abby said. 

“It will also require confirmation that the significant co-investment required from national, regional and local stakeholders, both public and private, is accessible.”

CIAL first shared its plans for a jet-capable airport on 750ha of land at Tarras in July 2020, revealing the company had spent $45M purchasing land around the airport site.

The proposal has received significant community pushback from the start, and that opposition increased after the airport company released a feasibility study that showed the airport could support long-haul international flights.

Go deeper:

• Flights to Southeast Asia from Tarras feasible.
• More opposition to proposal for airport at Tarras.

It has been publicly opposed by the region’s two regional tourism organisations, Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown, as well as Queenstown Airport, the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB) and Wānaka Airport lobby group Wānaka Stakeholders Group, among others.

Today Paul Silk acknowledged there were “a wide range of views” on the airport project. 

He noted “the region’s strong desire to ensure transport infrastructure is aligned with a pivot toward sustainable tourism, together with the potential changes to infrastructure planning, funding and delivery frameworks signalled by the new government.”

CIAL operates Christchurch’s domestic and international airport, the second busiest airport in New Zealand as measured by passenger numbers. 

It is a council-controlled trading organisation in which the Crown has a 25 percent shareholding. 

The remaining 75 percent is owned by CCHL, a subsidiary of the Christchurch City Council.

PHOTO: Supplied